1986 New Year's baby eyes nursing as career

Dec. 31, 2013

Lesley Stone Schoenbauer

Written by

Rick Neale | |FLORIDA TODAY

Brevard County’s 1986 New Year’s baby may transition careers from serving Patrón in Chili’s to serving patients in hospitals.

Lesley Stone Schoenbauer of Orlando has worked the past five-plus years as a bartender and server at the chain restaurant’s Altamonte Springs eatery.

Lesley finished her associate in arts degree last month at Seminole State College. Her potential next step: nursing school.

“I’ve been serving, oh my gosh, since I was 18, basically. I might take a year off to pay off my student loans, then go into nursing — or end up going to pursue something else,” Lesley said.

“I really enjoy being around people, making them happy. I guess you could say I care about the well-being of others,” she said.

Lesley’s mother, Wynne Stone, went into labor 28 years ago at 11:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve at her Palm Bay home. And Lesley wasted little time. She debuted at 2:24 a.m. at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne — departing the womb so swiftly that a nurse handled the delivery because the doctor didn’t arrive in time.

During a FLORIDA TODAY interview after the historic birth, Wynne Stone likened Lesley’s birth to “a freight train,” and she joked that she just missed out on her tax break.

Lesley clocked in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces.

She attended Palm Bay Elementary, Stone Middle and Palm Bay High. After her parents divorced, she transferred to Edgewater High in Orlando for her sophomore year and moved in with her father, Michael Stone. She has remained in Orange County ever since.

She married Billy in 2004 and they have a 6-year-old son, Shawn. Lesley enjoys her status as one of the Space Coast’s notable newborns.

“I like it. Nobody ever forgets my birthday — that’s always good. It’s a constant reminder every time I get ID’ed that I’m a New Year’s baby,” she said.

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